Being tech writers, few things the team at Techsplurge is often asked is, ‘what is the perfect smartphone for me?’, ‘what tablet should I buy?’ or ‘which is the best laptop on market?’. In fact, people who may have not talked to us for years and do not really care about our otherwise muted existence, find the urge one fine day to ask us if the phone they are planning to pick the very next day is worth all the hard earned money.
Yes, it is fun to answer the queries and get involved, but it does get irritating when the person asking you for your opinion starts acting an expert. To cut the story short, I have been asked a fair few times in the past couple of days about the best tablet suited for my needs.
My answer has been the iPad Mini, it has been that for a while, although the new Nexus 7 really does interest me, but I will be sticking with this little white beauty for a foreseeable future, my reasons? Here they are:
It’s an Apple product- Things Work
Its an old argument, but when it comes to tablets, it is more valid than others. Having owned the iPad Mini for a good couple of months and having had experiences with Nexus 7 and a couple of Samsung Galaxy Note tabs, I can confidently vouch for the fact that I have had least moments of app freezes, random re-bots and unresponsiveness on the Mini.
No, I am not saying that there have been none, there have been several in fact, but the overall responsiveness of the device has been fantastic with the iPad Mini. If I have to rely on one product to store my important documents on and have full confidence it would not let me down when I am surrounded by important tasks at office; it would be this. I am also a huge fan of Apple Customer service, and had taken my iPad to one of the centers with complain of chipping on the sides, they promptly replaced the device and that is where the consumer experience goes to a whole new level with the device.
I swim in the sea of Apps
It is true that App collection on both Android and iOS are pretty much on par. But where iOS really edges things is apps optimized for usage on tablets. There are several apps for Android phones, but the tablet collection remains way off the mark.
Most of the new apps to the tablet world release on iPad first and Android tabs later on, so it is cool to have a device where you know you get the best collection of tablet optimized apps to pick from and get them on time without much region restrictions.
The Battery on iPad Mini is Fly
Having owned the Nexus 7 and sold it, I have to admit the battery on the iPad Mini is a lot better. I easily get about three days of standby with pretty reasonable usage which mainly involves casual browsing and reading loads of E-Books thanks to the awesome Flipkart E-Book application launched recently. There are no real heating issues either and this was a nice surprise coming from a Tegra 3 powered Nexus 7 which almost blew smoke out.
I do miss the Tegra zone games, even though they literally put the device performance to the extreme limit and gulped battery down faster than a forever thirty man
That Size Matters
The iPad Mini is very similar in terms of specs and screen quality as the iPad 2. I do have an iPad 2 at home, but the smaller size of iPad Mini made it a lot more comfortable companion to carry around. I enjoyed reading and watching videos on the device more since I could easily use the device while lying down. The ten inch plus iPad still feels a little too big for casual carrying around.
iPad Mini on top of iPad 2
Another important factor to me is the 4:3 aspect ratio which I much prefer in tablets as compared to widescreen 16:9.
Flipkart E-Book app on iPad Mini
I think with iPad Mini being a 4:3 device, reading is a total breeze and since that’s what I use the device for mainly, it makes a very good case for the perfect tablet.
The Display is not all that Bad
Yes, I know this is not a Retina display and using an iPhone 5 as a daily driver, has spoilt my taste in screens. But not for one moment did I find the iPad Mini’s display bad. This is the same display as that on the iPad 2, but with a smaller size meaning a better PPI.
The display is sharp and clear and with very good outdoor visibility, the iPad Mini is my go to it device when on the move. It is very decent for browsing web, and apps such as Flipboard, casual Twitter, Facebook and loads of Feedly surfing help me kill practically any free time I have.
Would I invest in the next gen iPad Mini with Retina display? Perhaps, but that would depend on the pricing, for now I am very happy with this device.
But what if I do not like iOS, do I have Options?
The answer is always a yes as far as the consumer electronics world goes. You always have options. Perhaps the two options I highly recommend would be the new Nexus 7 and the Samsung Tab 8, the newer model. Both of them are fantastic snappy devices and I have heard some great reviews as far as the new Nexus 7 goes. It is not available in India yet, so obviously we have not checked it out, but it is a terrific product.
The Note 8 is a different device, but if you are looking to pick something where you can take notes on and like the whole Android Ecosystem, the device does deserve checking out. You can obviously pick the new iPad which comes with the Retina Display, but that is in a different league price wise.
Conclusion
So, those are my primary reasons for carrying an iPad Mini. As tech reviewers, we get to play with plenty of device, so obviously when it comes to making a choice for ourselves, we make sure we pick the thing exactly what we need. An iPad Mini fits mine, and if you are also a casual surfer, and love E-Books and would like to experience the whole tablet world, give iPad Mini a shot. You can easily pick one and try out in an Apple Store in person and judge for yourself.
If you have any questions regarding the tablet or in general, do not hesitate to fill the section below or reach us on Facebook or Twitter.
